A Green Cardigan
by frostystuffs
Summary: It was pretty difficult to make out in the low lighting and if it was any other day, she wouldn't have even thought twice about it. But today wasn't like any other day. (Day 2 of Tomadashi week)


***BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP***

The sound of the alarm ripped through the small one bedroom apartment. Every other day, the only inhabitant would jump right up and get ready for her day at the collage, eager to get through it quickly so she could go make more progress on her bike.

But today wasn't like every other day.

The petite Korean woman slowly sat up, rubbing her rather red eyes. She had been awake for hours, thinking about today. A glance out of the window told her that even the heavens were sad today and she certainly couldn't blame them. Now, GoGo Tomago is many things, a collage student, a science genius, a tomboy, an adrenaline junkie, a tiny ball of fury when angry, a loyal friend, and many more, but never was she a sap. The heavens upset? She would have scoffed and rolled her eyes any other day,

But today wasn't like every other day.

Pushing herself to get out of bed, her foot brushed against something on the floor. Looking down, it seemed to be only a shirt that was half under her bed and half sticking out, letting her remember the cleaning the room needed. She sighed as she bent over, picking the clothing item up and about to head to the bathroom when something fell from the shirt. Her brows knit together while she stared down at whatever it was, making not a move one to get it.

It was small. Shiny. It was shiny, too. A metallic shiny–which did not surprise her. She was a mechanical engineer and she had scrap metal everywhere, you might even find some in her bathroom. She merely rolled her eyes and stepped over it, certainly not in the mood to be cleaning today.

She was about to toss the shirt onto the floor close to the door (maybe she'd remember to do laundry if she put it there) when she actually saw what the shirt was. Her eyes went a bit wide and she spun around on her heel, going straight to that 'scrap metal' from a few seconds ago. Mentally scolding herself the whole few steps over there and holding the shirt in a death grip.

Only, before stepping down to pick it up, she stared at it. It was pretty difficult to make out in the low lighting and if anyone else was looking at it they would realize that it just a small wrench, nothing special. But it was more than that to her. Her breath hitched as she got into a crouching position, then she continued to stare. Not making any sort of move to pick it up as memories began to flood through, oh so painful memories.

—

_"Tadashi! Give it back, now!" the black and purple haired woman shouted angrily as she hopped and bounced and jumped, trying to get the wrench she needed out of her much taller boyfriend's hand. _

_"Not until you get something to eat!" he chuckled his reply. That was Tadashi Hamada for you, wrapped up in one. Caring and willing to do anything to help someone out, even if it meant making them so mad they saw red. _

_"I will after this! Give that back!" GoGo made another move to snatch the wrench but her height limited her from being able to get it. With a rather loud growl, she stood back a little with her arms crossed and her eyes dangerously narrow. Tadashi sucked in a breath (she heard it) but didn't give the item to her._

_You see, GoGo is an independent woman. She is confident. Some might say she's even full of herself (they'd be wrong). Only, when it came to her height, that was a different story altogether..._

_"No, you won't. You said that 2 hours ago when Honey left." the man stood his ground, trying not to look like he was fazed by the young woman's anger._

_But he was. Very much so._

_The said woman scoffed and rolled her eyes, her arms moving from her chest to come and rest on her hips. She cocked one to the side as her eyes narrowed again and looked up at the tool she need. The one Tadashi was refusing to let her have. It really wasn't anything special, just a small wrench. It was the size of her hand so naturally, Tadashi's hand completely covered it. 'That's what was making it so hard to get.' she told herself. She would not admit that it was her height._

_But she knew it was._

_"Come on, GoGo," he groaned out her name, sounding tired and a bit annoyed. "You've been here since 3 and it's just now 11, you've gotta eat!" he was still on that? She was a grown woman, she'll eat when she wants to! It didn't matter that he was her boyfriend, oh no.. Though in a relationship, she still had control of herself._

_"No, not right now. I'm not that hungry. It can wait till after this wheel is finished." she lunged to grab the wrench again. She was quick, too quick for Tadashi's tired eyes to register until she was a centimeter away. With a gasp, he tried to move so she wouldn't get it, but ended up tripping over his own feet and they both went down._

_Tadashi landed first, his back painfully thumping against the hard tiled floor and the wrench falling from his hand then sliding to a stop a few feet away. GoGo fell down right on top of him, causing them both to lose their breath. They didn't notice at the moment what had fallen onto the smaller girl's back. After a few seconds of silence (except for labored breathing) Tadashi's frantic voice broke through. _

_"Oh my goodness, GoGo!" the man was on his feet in an instant, pulling the small woman up with him. Usually she'd be the first to get up, but she was a little dazed. Was it from her lack of food, her exhaustion, or whether it was being so close to Tadashi Hamada, she'd never spill. The latter shouldn't matter much, given that they were dating and all but... Man, they were really close._

_"I am so sorry, I-I didn't mean- oh man, are you hurt?!" she couldn't control the tiny smirk that played at her lips while he stuttered and fumbled over his words. She landed on top of him, and all he cared about was if she was okay._

_'Sweet.' was a word she didn't use often, but that was exactly what entered her mind. But goodness gracious of she'd ever say it!_

_"Chill, mother hen." she used that instead. It made him stop freaking out, at least. He took a deep breath, his eyes sliding closed, and she took it as a way out of this mess. She quickly walked passed him and picked the wrench up, going right over her wheel. Tadashi groaned for the second time that night. _

_"I have a reason being a mother hen, being your boyfriend and all..." the robotics student didn't hide the smirk he turned to face her. She, on the other hand, merely rolled her eyes. Still a mother hen to her. Then he noticed what she was doing. "Please, GoGo, just for a few-" he stopped short when he saw her back. His face instantly paled. _

_He was __**so **__dead. _

_Noticing that he stopped short, she couldn't help the bubble of curiosity that entered her. This man was known for never giving up, so what happened? Taking a glance behind her, she quirked an eyebrow. "Stop staring, you might burn holes." _

_Usually he'd blush at that and turn away, mumbling and muttering while rubbing the back of his neck. But he didn't. What he did do, made her body freeze and her breath stop in her throat. _

_"Might be better than that." was his quiet, quieter than a whisper, response. Whipping around and facing him, her face turned emotionless and her eyes that seemed to feel nothing stared right into the poor boy's soul. _

_"What?" it was harsh, and cold, and it caused a slight bit of fear to enter him. A small shiver went down his spine and he sucked a breath in when she took a step closer to him._

_Stumbling backwards, he gasped an began to try to explain himself. "There's just- its not really bad- I mean, hot water will-" he made no progress of talking and her patience was thin. Stripping her jacket off, she noticed that it was a little bit shinier than usual. Her wide eyes drifted over to where they had fallen and sure enough, there was an __**empty **__can of oil. She groaned and turned her back to him. This was her favorite purple shirt!_

_"How bad is it?" he stood up straighter (no, he wasn't cowering in fear. What gave you that idea?) and took a few steps closer. _

_"Well, uh... It looks like someone hit you in the back with a oil-filled balloon." he tried to make a joke but when her icy brown eyes met his, he shut up._

_"Hamada, I swear-" she was cut off however, as he began to take off his cardigan. Her lips parted slightly and she sucked in a breath. She never really saw him without it on, really. She was beginning to thing it was permantly attached to his body._

_That, and the baseball cap._

_"Here." he said somewhat gently, maybe trying to be nice, maybe trying to calm the tiger from killing him, as he laid it across her shoulders. "Wear this. I have a bunch of them. It won't be missed. Plus, I can't have my girlfriend walking around with an oil stain on her shirt. Have any idea how much of a bad boyfriend I'd be?" _

_Caught up in nothing but shock, her body moved by itself as she slipped her arms through the sleeves and noticed out they fell down way passed her wrists, the ends brushing against her finger tips. The waist line ended at her mid thigh, but man was it comfortable._

_Maybe it was the cardigan itself, maybe it was because this was Tadashi's. She wouldn't spill._

_"Thanks." she muttered before turning again, about to work on her wheel. Tadashi let out a defeated sigh, knowing that there wasn't anything he could do now to get her to eat. He was about to turn when her voice cut through the air. _

_"There's a small Chinese takeout about 2 blocks away, if we order now and head there it should be done the second we walk through the door."_

—

GoGo went down a little more, peeking underneath her bed. Sure enough, what she thought would be there, was. Holding her favorite, oil-stained purple shirt on hand, her other went under her bed and pulled the green cardigan out. The said green cardigan that wasn't really her's. The one that didn't go with any of her outfits. The one that if you look close enough, you can see the black oil that managed to get from the back of her shirt to the inside of the cardigan. The wrench, that little metal wrench, lay forgotten in front of her while her breath stopped coming out and her whole world seemingly stopped spinning for a moment. That was crazy and she would have laughed at you had you said it any other day...

But today wasn't like every other day.

With a sniffle, she rose to her feet with both clothing items tightly in her hands. She remembered that night, remembered it like it was yesterday. It was only a few months ago, before Hiro came to meet them all at the school. That day, man that day...

She shook her head and straightened her back. 'No,' she thought. 'Not today.' she's already had her days of mourning, she's cried till there wasn't any tears and she tore her room to bits. She had her share, today was everyone else's turn. She let the clothing fall from her hands and she made her way to the bathroom where small black outfit was hanging.

Yes, today was going to be a rather sad day. The heavens even said so, the angles crying and wailing, causing thunder and rain in abundance. But she refused to let it faze her. Why would she? Today was the funeral, the day that they looked back on his life and appreciated his time here. The day the remembered him. She was prepared, I mean, how can you not have any memories of the man you loved?

Sadly enough, however, they were now nothing but memories.


End file.
